Tank at the Lord Roberts Memorial Workshops

[centurion]

I've found a single line reference to a tank being displayed to raise funds for the above workshops (which employed disabled servicemen) in June 1917. This predates the tank banks by some time. I know the workshops built wooden toy tanks (with working rollers and tracks) to raise funds in 1918 (and can remember as a small boy finding one still in working order in the nursery toy cupboard at my Grandparents). Does anyone know any thing about the tank that was displayed?

[NigelS]

Could it have been a model? The Times of 26th June '17 mentions a model tank built by the workshops visiting the 'City' in its Court Circular section:

British 'tank' model made at Lord Roberts Memorial Workshops visits the City and is received at Mansion House. 10.

Unfortunately no further details given.

NigelS

[NigelS]

I think I may have found some footage of this 'tank' in the Pathe Archive: London's Model Tank to be used in connection with silent tribute to Lord Roberts

The Times Jun 26, 1917 gives this:

To-day the large model of a tank, made by disabled soldiers at Fulham, will visit the City, it is due to reach the Mansion House at 10 o'clock with goods for silent tribute day (July 6) in aid of the Lord Roberts Memorial Workshops for Disabled soldiers and Sailors

Prior to this adverts for the event gave it as being on the 6th July in London and the 7th (a Saturday) elsewhere in the country. Reporting on the 6th July gave that 7,000,000 'penny emblems' had been prepared for sale, with one design representing Noah's Ark and another 'a silhouette of Lord Roberts on a charger'; other items on sale were 'a bas-relief bust of Lord Roberts and attached to a silk reproduction of the Kandahar ribbon' (6d) and a 'pin surmounted by the Roberts Cipher and earl's coronet' (1s); collections were made in 40,000 boxes, 30,000 of which took the form of Noah's Ark 'one of the earliest toys fashioned in the Workshops' (A Noah's Ark can also be seen on top of the 'model' tank). All the boxes and articles for sale were given as having been made at the fund's workshops by disabled soldiers. The same report gives 'a second "tank" starts operation to-day', so it seems that there was more than one.

I came across this Pathe footage after revisiting the site, having watched 'A time to Remember' (Rember the iconic swinging pendulum and the 'tick-tock' ?) on BBC4 last night which showed a 'Howdah' type arrangement fitted to the top of tank to allow passenger rides at Southend on Sea post war Click. I don't recall coming across this before, so it looks likely that newly digitized film may still be being added to this archive (although a trifle irritating, if it keeps the access to this brilliant resource free I'll happily tolerate the advertising).

NigelS